The Summer Without You
by Ke
Summary: [COMPLETED] One summer, one kidnap, one bond that lasts forever... HeijiKazuha
1. Chapter 1

KudoEdogawa presents...

""The Summer Without You""

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A/N: This is a Heiji/Kazuha fic..., named after the song "Kimi ga Inai Natsu" (The Summer Without You), one of the Conan songs.

No, I do not own Detective Conan. Detective Conan and all affiliated characters belong to Gosho Aoyama-sensei.

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Chapter 1::

The rays of the sun shot through the thick layers of trees, and birds fluttered over the campus. The heat of the sun is making everyone sweat. Ice shops are re-opening throughout the city, and the banished fans and wind chimes are once again being used. Inside a certain school, the students eagerly await for the last five minutes of torture to be over. The students look at the clock excitedly..., three more minutes to go..., and went back chatting to their friends. Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha were in a corner of the room, yelling crossly at each other. No one bothered to try and calm and down, everyone knew that it's only normal that these two lovebirds argue day and night. All of a sudden, a shrill ringing echoed through out the school, students exited from every classroom and headed for the nearest snack shop. 

At last, summer is here.

"But Heiji!!!" Kazuha shouted. "The Kuraki Mai concert is only two days away! Why can't we visit Ran and Kudo _next _ week?!"

"You aho!! How many times do I have to tell you that they've already reserved tickets for us for the Okino Yoko concert?!" Heiji retorted. "And that concert's also in two days!"

"And since when have you become a Yoko fan?! Or are you trying to be that old man's apprentice?" Kazuha taunted, referring to Kogoro.

"Don't you DARE even compare me to that...that... GUY!" Heiji roared.

"Yeah, whatever..., I'm still going to Mai's concert, you can go find your guru in the meanwhile." Kazuha whacked Heiji with her backpack and left for her house.

Heiji sat in front of his computer that afternoon, chatting with his friends online, complaining about Kazuha.

**Better Than Kudo:** seriously dude, she's gettin on my nerves  
**Mega Pimp:** yeah, yeah, w/e  
**Mega Pimp: **evry1 knos that u luv her  
**Better Than Kudo:** i do not!

Heiji knew that was a lie. Ever since junior high he's felt a special feeling that's been reserved just for Kazuha, although he never makes it obvious, he _ does_ care for her, and he's carrying tons of guilt after that argument.

**Mega Pimp:** dude, just so u kno, high school ended 2day  
**Better Than Kudo:** so?  
**Mega Pimp:** man, for a detective, u'r quite slow...  
**Mega Pimp:** next yr, the 2 of u will B goin 2 college  
**Better Than Kudo:** yeah, so?  
**Mega Pimp:** wat r the chances of u 2 goin to the same college, huh?  
**Better Than Kudo: **erm...  
**Mega Pimp:** dats wat i thot...  
**Mega Pimp:** dis summer could be ur last chance to tell her how much she means to u  
**Mega Pimp:** ur first step rite now is to apologize

Just then, Kazuha logged online.

**Mega Pimp:** here she comes now  
**Better Than Kudo:** fine, fine...

Heiji doubled clicked on Kazuha's screen name--Kawaii Kazuha.

**Better Than Kudo:** hey, Kazu'!  
**Kawaii Kazuha signed off on 05:03:32 PM**

**BetterThanKudo:** wut do i do now?  
**MegaPimp:** call

~~~

"Ooh, that loser! Usually people give their girlfriends hugs and kisses on the last day of school!" Kazuha panted furiously.

_But the two of you aren't a couple, remember?_ A voice in her head told her. "Oh..., yeah. Why do I care what he does, it's not like we like each other or anything...or at least, we pretend not to..."

She sighed and her cell phone rang. "Moshi, moshi?"

"Hey, Kazu', it's Hei-" she hung up on him. And the phone rang again, she looked at the screen of the cell phone: "A call from Lil' Hei-kun. Accept?" Oh why is she lying to herself? If she didn't care for him why did she insert his name as _Lil' Hei-kun_ on her cell? She answered the call.

"Heiji, I'm sorry, I don't know what's gotten into me today, I'm just so sorry. I know that I-"

"No, Kazu, _I'm_ sorry, I was such a bastard this afternoon. I just called Kud-erm, Conan, and told them that we couldn't make it. I'll go with you to Mai's concert."

"Oh, Heiji, you didn't have to. I mean, I could've met up with you guys after the concert or something."

"No, seriously, it's okay. And one more thing, I'm gonna pay for the tickets."

"But-"

"No, 'but's, think of it as an apology." _Now, Heiji, do it now and tell her your damned feelings._

"Kazuha?"

"Hmm?"

"I, erm, I...I..."

_Come on Heiji, say it!_

"Heiji, dinner!!" Shizuka shouted from the kitchen, which Kazuha was able to hear on the other side of the phone.

"I gotta go!"

"Yeah, okay."

"So, see you." Heiji hung up. He sat on his bed silently for five minutes.

. . . . . . . . . .

He rammed his head against his lamp. "Grr!! You're such a wuss, Heiji!! Grr!!"

~~~

The next day passed without much event, besides that Kogoro made an angry phone call to Heiji. "You brat!! I've already bought 5 VIP tickets!! You little..."

The second day came and Heiji met Kazuha in the mall near the city square for dinner. Heiji took Kazuha to an expensive Italian restaurant within the mall, which had all the best and most delicious Italian cuisine. Heiji had told Kazuha to get anything she wanted, that was a mistake. He never knew how much the girl could eat! Pretty soon, their table is filled with plates of spaghetti and lasagna, pizzas of every topping, and all kinds of delicious soup and desert. Heiji watched with fear as Kazuha gobbled down plates after plates of food and knew that this isn't the normal Kazuha. Sure enough, his suspicions were confirmed when they had finished. The waiter handed the bill to Heiji, who, after looking at it, almost passed out, and Heiji was sure that it was Kazuha's revenge.

It wasn't surprising to see so many people leaving the mall at the same time. All of those people, no doubt, were heading to the city square to watch the concert. There were a lot of people there, even considering the fact that school's already out. The crowd went wild when Mai stepped onto the stage in her gorgeous costume and starts to sing one song after the other. Mai kicked off the party with _Always_, her own voice barely audible to the audiences' sing-alongs. At last, the concert ended at 11:30 when Mai finished singing _Like A Star In the Sky_.

. . .

The motorcycle halted to a stop in from of the Toyama residence. Heiji and Kazuha hopped off the vehicle and approached for the door.

"Well, the party's over." Heiji said, blushing a little.

"Yup." Kazuha sighed. "Heiji..., thanks for coping with my stubbornness." She smiled.

"Don't mention it..." Heiji blushed more. "Well..., good night."

"Good night." Kazuha opened the door, turned back to Heiji, pecked him on the face, and went inside, leaving Heiji blushing a furious red.

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	2. Chapter 2

KudoEdogawa presents...

""The Summer Without You""

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Chapter 2::

The sun slowly rises from the horizon, facing Mother Nature's creations, turning her greens to gold. Tiny rays of sunlight pierced through the closed curtains and landed themselves on Kazuha's face. Kazuha stirred in her sleep and woke up. She sat up on her bed and yawned contently. Kazuha approached her mirror sitting on the wall and brushed her brown hair from her face and stared blankly into the mirror, recounting last night's events. She had persuaded Heiji to go to the Kuraki Mai concert, and she didn't have to pay for it..., not only that, she had kissed him. A satisfied smiled came to her face, but the moment later, she slapped her face with both hands.

Why had she done that? She had tried so hard to deny that fact that she loves him, and now all those hard work of deceive had been pointless. How would Heiji look at her now? As a stupid little girl that couldn't control herself? She let out a frustrated moan at the thought of Heiji's reactions, unknowing that Heiji had enjoyed that little peck.

The youngest member of the Toyama residence got out of her pajamas and got dressed. She entered the kitchen and looked at the messy note scribbled down on the table two years ago and has been there on the table since that day on.

_Gone to work, Hattori's picking you up._

_Take care, love  
Dad_

And that has been how she started her morning every weekday for the past two years: wake up, eat breakfast and wait for Heiji. But today was going to be different. For one, it's summer, so there's no need for Heiji to pick her up, and for two, she's decided to take a walk.

She left the house, humming to herself, her mood high above the clouds. Kazuha was skipping and singing as she turned at a corner and entered an alleyway, heading for the park at the other end of the alley. A soft, muffled rumbling was behind her, slightly worried, she turned around and saw nothing behind her. Thinking that she imagined the rumble, Kazuha walked on, though turning her head back every now and then.

Kazuha had stepped out of the alley, greeted by the greeneries of the park, then she heard it again--rumbling sounds, like a motorcycle. Kazuha looked behind her again and saw it, a man, (or was it a woman?), wearing a large coat and a helmet, staring at her through the visors on a huge, black, motorcycle, beckoning her to go back to the other end of the alley.

Kazuha shook her head nervously, and broke into a run. She ran along the sidewalk around the park, bumped into a man, and let out a terrified scream. Her cell phone had fell out of her pocket and the man picked it up

"Dude, what the hell are you scream about?" Said a voice way too familiar.

Kazuha looked up, "Heiji?"

The Osaka detective was looking at her, one eyebrow raised. Heiji shifted his attention to her cell phone, "Why didn't you answer my calls?" His eyes were fixed on the tiny screen, fingers moving around on the little pad, navigating the cell phone as if it was his. "See, 4 missed calls from..."

His eyes widened, and he stared bewilderedly at the screen, "...**_Lil' Hei-kun_**!?!?" 

Kazuha picked herself up from the ground, blushing furiously, and snatched the phone out of his hands. "Yeah, you got a problem with that!?" She shouted at Heiji, who, upon realizing that he has a pet name, flushed, his dark face turning into a deep magenta.

It was a while after when they had both calmed down, and Heiji asked, "So, what were you running away from anyway? A squirrel?"

Kazuha hit him rather hard in the head with her handbag, which contained her purse, her CD player, and the latest volume of JUMP. "No, it was a stalker for your information!!"

"A stalker?" Heiji repeated suspiciously, rubbing his head.

Kazuha looked at his expression of suspicion, "That expression..." Kazuha growled in a threatening voice, and Heiji knew what was wrong and tried hastily to change his expression into a serious, concerned expression, though he know it was no use. "...you can go to hell!!" Kazuha finished, punching Heiji and sending him into the air.

Kazuha stood there counting, "One, two, three...." There was an accelerating noise as Heiji crashed back on to the ground. "Five seconds, hmm..., could've sent you a little higher though. Now... what do we say?"

"Sorry," Heiji said with a face full of bruises.

The two of them had arrived at a certain ice cream shop, and to further apologize, Heiji had offered to pay for their ice creams, although it was because of the dangerous tone that Kazuha talked in when Heiji took out money enough for only himself.

"...So then I kept walking, and when I finally came out of the alley, I heard it again. That's when I turned around and saw him (or her, I don't know), so I got scared and started running and I bumped into you."

"And you let out a scream easily mistaken to that of a banshee's," Heiji said dully, and continued on before Kazuha could retort, "but anyway, I'm pretty sure you just imagined it. I mean, after all, who would want to stalk an ugly, old hag?"

Heiji's face screwed up in horror after realizing what he had just said. Kazuha smiled at Heiji. "AN UGLY, OLD HAG, HUH? WELL, IN THAT CASE, YOU CAN ** GO.**" A slap. "**TO.**" A punch. "**HELL!!!**" A kick at where it hurts. Kazuha turned on her heels and left.

Kazuha was muttering curses under her breath, still completely furious at Heiji. The sun was already sinking when she got home, illuminating the house. Kazuha unlocked the door, opened it, went inside, and closed the door--but it was stopped. Kazuha stared in horror as the person wearing the coat and helmet tried to force herself through the gap of the door. Kazuha let out a shrill scream and whacked the person with her handbag.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!!" Kazuha screamed, and attempted the punch the person.

Her punch was caught by the other, "Now, now, girl," It was a woman after all, "come with me silently. We don't want to bruise your beautiful face now, do we?"

Kazuha kicked upwards, making the woman release her grip momentarily, Kazuha ran inside her house, seeking protection.

"Get her!" She heard the woman shout followed by footsteps. Four men in black suits entered her room and seized her. The woman came in a second later and laid a note on Kazuha's bed:

_Dad,_

_I'm going camping with Hattori-kun, and then I'm going to Tokyo, don't know when I'll be back, but don't worry about me._

_Love, Kazu_

"Who are you?" Kazuha asked.

"Aiya, haven't you figured it out by now?" The woman took off her coat, revealing a black dress. Her hand slowly up to the helmet and she took it off, revealing a beautiful, yet cold and deadly face, blonde hair, and a evil smirk on her face. "I'm a member of the so-called 'Black Organization.'"

Kazuha stared in fear upon recognition of the woman's face.

"You may call me......

Vermouth."

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	3. Chapter 3

KudoEdogawa presents...

""The Summer Without You""

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Chapter 3::

The cell phone rang again in the dark and dusty basement, its ringing muffled by the girl sitting on it. Kazuha woke up slowly and looked around at this new environment. She heard the ringing and reached for her cell phone...but she couldn't; her hands were tied up behind her back and her mouth has been duct taped. Events of that afternoon flashed back into her mind.

The ringing had stopped. And came back again, mustering all her energy, Kazuha pulled herself up from the ground and supported herself against the wall. She wiggled her body, attempting to shake the cell phone out of her back pocket. No use. The ringing stopped again, and Kazuha's face saddened.

~*~

"Dammit!" Heiji swore loudly, coming out of the showers. "Where the hell is she?" Heiji dried himself up and tried again, his finger moving across the little pad, dialing the number that he knew too well.

There was still no reply.

_Could she have gone to Tokyo?_ Heiji thought, remembering the last time Kazuha ran away. He had called her a menacing Harpy that time. And she got herself to Tokyo and stayed there for a week until Ran decided to call.

Heiji dialed another number on his cell phone and he was answered the by the voice of a seven-year old.

"Moshi, moshi, Mouri De-"

"Oy, Kudo!" Heiji said energetically.

"H-Hattori!?" Conan exclaimed on the other end. "What do you want?"

"Hey, hey! Is that how you greet a bro?"

There was a pause during which Conan did some serious thinking..., "Yes, it is."

Heiji stared menacingly at the phone. Conan talked again, "So, what do you want?"

"Okay, this is the deal. Kazuha's not answering my calls," Heiji said, sounding as if this was a world disaster.

"So?" Conan said simply. "You probably called her an ugly, old hag or something."

_I'd like to know how that twerp know everything!_ Heiji thought. "Ha ha ha, o-of course I didn't."

"You don't sound entirely convincing, Hattori." Conan said.

"Okay, fine. I did." Heiji then explained the day's incident to Conan. "...so I thought that she might've came to you guys like last time, so I called."

"Well, if she's taking the train, and she left this afternoon, I don't think she'd be here yet."

"Oh..." Heiji replied sadly.

"I'll call you back if she comes," Conan said, noting the disappointment in his best friend's voice.

"Okay..." said Heiji, and with that, they hung up.

~*~

The next two days past without anything eventful. Conan had not called him back, but Heiji assumed that he was threatened by Kazuha to not do so..., that is... until the afternoon of the second day of Kazuha's disappearance. Heiji was in the living room, reading _The ABC Murders_ by Agatha Christie. His mother, Shizuka, was also in the living room, humming to herself, preparing to make dinner. The phone in the nearby hall way started to ring. Shizuka, who was nearer to the phone, went and answered the phone call. The voice that came out of the phone was loud enough for Heiji to hear.

"Ah, konbanwa, Shizuka!" It was the voice of Kazuha's father.

"How are you doing, Toyama-kun?"

"Fine, fine." There was a pause during which he sighed. "They've grown up, haven't they?"

"Who?" Shizuka asked.

"Why..., Heiji and Kazuha of course! Or did they not tell you that they went camping together?" Heiji dropped his book as Kazuha's father chuckled.

"But...," Shizuka began slowly, "Heiji's been home these past few days..."

"Eh?" Came the voice on the other end.

Sounds of motorcycle engine starting up bellowed outside the house; Heiji had left in a hurry, leaving a trail of dust clouds behind him. Heiji arrived at Kazuha's house, and banged on the door. However, it wasn't the Toyamas who opened the door..., it was Heizo.

"D-Dad!?" Heiji exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"Your mother called me to let me know what happened right after you left, and since I was in the neighborhood, I came as soon as I could." Heizo stepped aside to let Heiji in. "Apparently, Mr. Toyama found a note in Kazuha's room some three days ago."

Heiji entered the Toyamas' living room and sat down. Mr. Toyama handed him the note. And Heiji groaned.

"Argh!! It's obvious that Kazuha didn't write this note!!" Heiji roared, spraying the adults with spit. Heizo looked at Heiji questioningly. "Look at this!! Just look at it!!"

"We already did, son." Heizo said.

"Oh yeah?" Heiji said, panting with rage, frustration, and worry. "Just look!! First of all, she never refers me to as 'Hattori-kun!'"

Mr. Toyama closed his eyes, trying to remember times when Kazuha had talked about Heiji, and realized what Heiji said was true. He looked at Heizo and nodded.

"Second, when has she _ever_ referred to herself as 'Kazu!?'" Heiji nearly screamed. "Kazu is _my_ na-.... Argh, she just doesn't use 'Kazu' alright? And these people are supposed to be high-ranking officers of Osaka!" Heiji cursed under his breath.

Heizo was about to reprimand his son about his attitude when Heiji's cell phone rang. Heiji's hands frantically raced with each other to answer the phone. "Moshi?"

"Hello..., _Lil' Hei-kun_..." It was a cold, deadly voice of a woman. The woman chuckled. "It would seem to me that you've found out about your precious angel's disappearance just now. Kinda slow for a detective, aren't you?"

_Just now?_ Heiji thought. _That means I'm being watched..._

"Who are you?" Heiji asked sternly, ignoring the adults' wishes to know who's the caller.

"There is no need for you to know that," the woman said coolly. "All you need to know is this: we have your girlfriend."

_We..., so that means there's more than one kidnapper. Kazuha's a pretty good martial artist..., so it's gonna take a lot of people to take her down. There's at least five or more kidnappers in this case._

"What do you want?" Heiji asked.

"Oh," said the woman, "pretty straight to the point, are we? Very well. We want the little girl, or the little boy. We know who they are. Bring them to the abandoned Beika Factory in a month at midnight..., by yourself." The woman hung up.

"Oy!? OY!!!" Heiji shouted into the cell phone. "Dammit!!"

"Who was it? What happened?" Toyama and Hattori asked eagerly.

"She's been kidnapped..., I have to get to Tokyo." With that, Heiji dashed out the house, started his motorcycle, and headed for the airport, wanting to get to Kudo as soon as possible.

_Please, Kazu'_ thought Heiji. _Please...be all right...._

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	4. Chapter 4

KudoEdogawa presents...

""The Summer Without You""

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Chapter 4::

The engine roared and the aircraft started to accelerate. Before he knew it, Heiji was soaring in the sky. He tried to calm himself down, but the more he do so, the more he worried. His hand reached into his shirt and clutched onto the omamori and he ran his thumb across the omamori, feeling the old key hidden inside.

Heiji looked around him in the first class compartment; there were two business men dressed in black sitting across from him. chatting away with each other about the stock market. There was a dark-skinned lady sitting in front of him, reading the American magazine _Marie Claire_. Heiji turned around to look: there were two people sitting at the very back, one of them was a blond-haired woman, her hairstyle fancy, and her face beautiful. There was a man dressed in black next to her, the man had a brown mustache, he was wearing a hat and was scribbling on a pad of paper. And just a little bit behind him, there was another woman, her expression stern, her hair tied up behind her, her eyes were fixed on a laptop screen, her outfit--black.

_Dammit, there's four people dressed in black. Any of them could be here to keep an eye on me... unless they're undercover and aren't wearing black... then any of these six people could be part of the Organization._

Two flight attendants were walking up and down the aisle, handing out drinks. The dark skinned woman in front of Heiji left her seat and went to the back to use the restroom--her outfit was black as well. Heiji scratched his head in frustration as he heard the restroom door slam in the back...

"AAAAAAARGH!!!"

One of the business men leapt from his seat, foam forming around his mouth as blood trickled out of it as well. The man gave one last groan and fell to the ground. Heiji checked his watch, 7:22, there's thirty-eight minutes until the plane lands, and he has a murder to solve.

One of the attendants let out a scream and ran for the stairs leading down to the economy class.

Heiji opened his mouth to command the woman to stay, but someone beat him to it "Don't move!" It was the woman with the laptop. "None of you may leave until this crime has been solved."

"This crime was almost impossible to commit," the man with the mustache said, "there were eight people total here, it would be difficult to commit the murder under six pairs of eyes..., especially when one particular pair belonged to a detective. Two pairs belonged to parents of a detective, and another pair belonged to the wife of a detective."

"Eh?" Heiji said. "Who are you?" He demanded.

"I won't say, incase the crows are around." Said the man.

Heiji nodded, he knew perfectly well what the man meant: he obviously knows something about the situation concerning Kazuha and he wanted keep their identities secret incase members of the Organization are around.

The dark-skinned lady exited the lavatory, the woman in black spoke. "When this murder happened, we were all in our seats, except this lady who was in the lavatory, so I think she is off the list of suspects."

"Not true," said the fancy woman, "She could've set up some type of trick and calculated the time well. And before the murder happened, she'd just have to make some excuse to leave and her alibi would be established."

Heiji bent down next to the victim and examined the body. "His lips are turning a sick greenish-purple. Pupils are unfocused, this has to be some type of poison."

A scent drifted to Heiji, and he sniffed at the air. _This is...?_ He moved closer to the victim, _Wine?!_ Heiji stood up and looked around the man's seat. A glass goblet was on the table and there were left over wine in the cup...

"I think we'll start with you," the stern woman said the the dark-skinned lady. "What was your purpose of coming to this trip?"

"I own a factory near downtown Osaka, I'm going to Tokyo to sign a contract for my company."

"A factory?" The mustached man questioned. "What type of factory?"

"Silverware and glassware."

"Do you have any proof?" 

The woman reached into her pocket and took out a business card, "Kirei Glass and Silverware."

The mustached man questioned the other business man, "What about you?"

"W-w-we're here on a b-business trip..." The man stuttered.

"Proof?"

"U-uh, I, uh, I t-think we have the schedule f-from our boss in his laptop..., let me see if I c-can find it...."

"But I want to look at _your_ laptop," said the fancy woman. "Mind if we take a look?" Then, without permission, the woman seized the laptop and turned it on, and various data appeared. Her husband took a look.

"Interesting..., it would seem to me that you've been doing some illegal trades in the stock market." Said the man.

"Ah-ha!" The fancy woman exclaimed. "Your partner must've interfered with you trades, so out of annoyance, you poisoned him!"

"N-no! It wasn't me!"

"Can we look at your other belongings?" The woman in black said.

The stuttering man took out his briefcase from the overhead closet and purposefully pushed something further into the storage. The man with the mustached stopped him and took out what the man was eager to hide--a bottle of wine.

"Ha!" Said the fancy woman.

"HE WAS DRINKING MY WINE, BUT I SWEAR, I DIDN'T KILL HIM!!"

"You may tell that to Officer Megure of the Tokyo Police Department when we land."

Heiji looked up from his examinations, and then at his watch--fifteen minutes till landing. Heiji stood up, bumped into the victim's seat, and the glass goblet toppled over. "Ah!" Heiji let out a cry and caught it in time.

_FLASH!_

For a brief moment, a flash of glittering light hit his eyes. Suspicious, he raised the goblet, the wine had spilled, and looked at the bottom. He could see a beautiful crystal structure through the bottom, as well as the words "Kirei."

Heiji smirked.

"Hold it!" He cried, holding the glass. "He's not the murderer..., she is." He pointed at the dark-skinned woman.

The three other interrogators looked at the young detective. "What do you mean?"

"This particular goblet right here..., was made from her factory." Heiji said. And he showed them the word "Kirei" on the bottom.

"S-so?" The dark-skinned woman said, "He was at Osaka, he could've bought it there!"

"True, but one must wonder why a maker of glass and silverware would work with diamond."

"Diamond?"

"Yeah..., this goblet... it's made of diamond." Heiji said.

"No it's not! Where the hell would I get diamond from, that is one-hundred percent pure glass!!"

"Oh, yeah?" Heiji said.

He raise the goblet high above his head, and smirked again. The dark woman had a terrified look on her face, the three other adults were also eyeing Heiji with interest. Mustering all the energy that he has, Heiji threw the goblet downwards and it toppled around in the air until, at last, it made contact with the hard floor with a loud _THUNK!_

The mustached man had raised his hands to shield himself from the broken glass shards..., but no shards came. The goblet laid on the floor, still perfectly shaped.

The dark-skinned woman fell on her knees and sobbed. "He's been threatening my family..., ever since my family found a large amount of diamonds, he's been demanding that we make high-quality products for him, or else he'll report us. He also said that if he found that any of the things he requested is not made of diamond, he'll find some way to shut down my factory... That goblet was made from the last of our supplies..., but he requested an entire glass cupboard to be made of diamonds... I can't let him shut down my factory... I can't...

The plane landed in Tokyo. Officer Megure was contacted, and he took the illegal trader and the woman away. Kudo Yusaku, Kudo Yukiko, and Kisaki Eri then accompanied Hattori Heiji to Mouri Detective Agency in Beika. On the way to the Agency..., Heiji couldn't help but question one thing... If these three people were on his side, and the other three all had their own purposes, then who was the person watching him?

~*~

The plane landed and the flight attendants prepared to leave. One of them entered the lavatory, grabbed on to the her chin, and pulled. A mask came off of the face, revealing the deadly face of the famous American actress.

"Kudo Yusaku, Yukiko, and Kisaki Eri? This could be interesting..."

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	5. Chapter 5

KudoEdogawa presents...

""The Summer Without You""

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Chapter 5::

"Are you positive of this, Vermouth?"

"Yes. I got several of his hair during a certain meeting with him as Jodie Saintemillion. I did the DNA test and everything, the result matches perfectly. Edogawa Conan is indeed Kudo Shinichi, and that blond girl that I've met must be the traitor Sherry."

"Very well. What of the Osaka girl?"

"We caught her trying to punch in numbers on her cell phone using her mouth. We have confiscated her phone as well as any other belonging that she had with her at that time."

"And Hattori?"

"Hattori Heiji has arrived in Tokyo under the escort of Kudo Yusaku, Kudo Yukiko, and Kisaki Eri."

"Kisaki Eri?"

"Yes sir, apparently Hattori Heizo have informed them what happened, and since the three of them were all in Osaka at the time, they volunteered to help keep an eye on the Heiji kid."

"Who else knows the truth behind Edogawa?"

"I'm not sure, sir. But I believe Agasa Hakase, Sherry, and his parents know about this."

"Mouri?"

"Mouri Ran, Mouri Kogoro, and Kudo Shinichi himself are left unaware of the situation."

"Hmmm..."

"Your orders, sir?"

"A second hostage wouldn't hurt..., take whoever you want and disable that professor."

"Yes, sir."

~*~

"ESCORT!?" Heiji screamed. "Argh, for God's sake I'm 18!! And Dad still refuses to trust me..."

"Well, Hattori-kun, have you any idea who could've kidnapped Kazuha-chan?" Yukiko asked.

"Yes..., it must be the Organization."

"Organization?" Eri repeated. "What organization?"

"The biggest underground crime ring of the modern world. Its members are always dressed completely black, and they're all some pretty talented wrongdoers, barely leaves any trace of their existence behind. The FBI suspects the existence of such an organization, but no evidence have been found to proof it. There are few who lives that know about them, except their own members." Yusaku explained.

Rain was falling heavily onto the glamorous car. The car stopped in front of a shabby looking apartment in Beika, the words "Mouri Detective Agency" were labeled across the window of the second floor. The windows on the third floor were lighted, for the third floor was inhabited by the Mouri family and Edogawa Conan. Heiji stepped out of the car, followed by Yusaku, Yukiko, and lastly, Eri.

"Try to keep Shinichi's identity a secret," Yusaku whispered.

"Well, off you go," Eri said, and the three adults watched as Heiji ascended the staircase.

Kogoro and Conan are watching Yoko's concert on TV, Ran was in her room, chattering away happily with Sonoko. The doorbell rang and Conan turned the volume down as Kogoro opened the door..., and exclaimed. "What the...what are you doing here?"

"Konbanwa!!" Heiji's accent traveled to Ran's room and Ran stepped out to greet Heiji.

"Hattori-kun!! What brings you to Tokyo so late at night??"

"Oh, I was in the neighborhood and decided to drop by." Heiji lied, then pointed at Conan. "Can I borrow this kid for a while?"

"Uh...sure." Ran said, "But why..." But before Ran could continue, Heiji had already grabbed Conan and rushed out the door. He put the struggling Conan down in front of the cafe downstairs.

"What?!" Conan demanded.

"Kazuha..." Heiji said slowly.

"Huh?"

"Kazuha..." Heiji's expression turned to sorrow, "she's been kidnapped.

"!?" Conan exclaimed. "By who?"

"The Organization..."

There was a brief silence. Although brief, to Shinichi and Heiji, it felt as long as months and even years as Conan realized what must have happened.

"They want me in exchange of her, don't they?" Conan spoke slowly.

"Either you or the girl."

More silence, broken only by the soft breathing of the three people present. Yes, three, a third person is overhearing their conversation, unknown to the detectives.

"What should we do? ...Kudo?" Heiji asked. The third person gasped quietly at the name.

"Let's head for Hakase's." And the duo left.

Slowly, the figure stepped out of darkness. Is it true? Is what they said true? Kazuha is kidnapped..., and Conan is Shinichi? Is it true?

~*~

Shinichi and Heiji came to the street where Shinichi used to live, Conan's seven-year old eyes looked at the doorplate of his house longingly then swept his sight to the house next to it.

It's chaotic.

The front gate is violently broken down and several trees in the yard have been damaged. Some of the windows on the second floor and the first floor have been broken, and crystal shards lie on the trampled grass. The door is on the floor, it looks as if someone kicked it down. Shinichi gave a silent gasp and ran inside the house. The light that hung overhead has been knocked to the ground, flashing now and then. However, the desk lamps are still lighted, giving the detectives enough ray just to make out the environment. The television set is broken, as well as the sofa, there's trickles of blood on the floor, and the place, overall, is a mess.

However, Shinichi noticed one place left undamaged. The door leading down to the basement, somehow it is locked. Shinichi and Heiji carefully made their way down to the door, and just when Conan was about to twist the doorknob, the door swung open. A blonde girl looking no older than seven walked out, teardrops hanging from her eyelashes.

"Kudo..." the girl sobbed. "They took him..."

To be continued...


	6. Chapter 6

Kudo Edogawa presents...

""The Summer Without You""

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"They took Hakase?!" Conan exclaimed.

"But why?" Heiji interrupted. "They've gotten this far, and if they knew about your identity, why didn't they take you instead? And how did they even find you here?"

"Ms. Jodie..." Ai said slowly.

"Eh?"

"Miss Jodie is Vermouth," Conan explained.

"She must have known who I am..., that's why she volunteered to take me and Hakase back here that day.* They didn't take me because Kudo's dad warned Hakase to hide me. So I hid in the basement." Ai explained.

[[*In volume 41 Ai got a serious fever and needed to leave a crime scene. But because the case wasn't solved yet so no one was allowed to leave. Vermouth parked her car somewhere else and offered to take Hakase and Ai back to Hakase's residence where she confirmed that Ai is Sherry.]]

Heiji's cell phone rang. Conan and Ai fell silent. "Moshi?" Heiji answered the call.

"Change of plans...," it was Vermouth. "Bring them this Sunday."

"Oy, oy!!" Vermouth had hung up.

"Dammit!" Heiji cursed.

"What did she want?" Conan asked.

"Changed the date..., we've got half a week now." Heiji said solemnly.

There was a moment of silence. "What should we do now?"

"What else can you do?" A voice said. The three wheeled around and came face to face with Kid the Phantom Thief, who was standing on the broken windowsill.

"Kid!?" Conan exclaimed. "How did you get here?"

"Why, with my trusty glider of course." Kid said as-matter-of-factly.

"How did you know that we're here?" Heiji questioned. 

"It's simple. All of Osaka are now looking for Toyama Kazuha, who apparently had been kidnapped. Her boyfriend, I belief, will not just abandon her and must have went to Tokyo to seek help from Kudo Shinichi. I was gonna go to the agency..., but I passed by Hakase's house and saw the wreck and realized what must have happened."

"You seem to know Hakase pretty well..., how?" Conan questioned.

Kid paused. "Hakase was a friend of my dad." Kid said simply.

There was a second moment of silence. No one seemed to know what to say. The deadline's been shortened..., they now have less time to come up with a plan, plus by dawn someone would have noticed the mess of Hakase's house and will call the police. The situation's complications seemed to have quadrupled in the past hour.

"Oh, by the way," Kid broke the silence. "Your girlfriend Mouri Ran and her dad have learned of the kidnap as well."

"How? And how did you know this?" Conan asked.

"I was intercepting radio transmissions and overheard Hattori Heizo's conversation with Mouri Kogoro."

"Dad?!" Heiji groaned. "Great..., the complication seemed to have quintupled."

"I'll go." Ai said suddenly.

Conan, Heiji, and Kid stared at her.

"I've brought you guys too much trouble already, I have to go with them." 

"You'll get killed!" Conan yelled.

"I doubt it," Ai said coolly. "They'll let us live as long as I agree to continue the experiment."

"But you hate that experiment!" Conan shouted again.

"What choice do I have?" Ai shrugged.

"I know a second option," Kid said, "and it's not too complicated."

~*~

"Don't worry, Hattori-kun, we'll all help you get her back." Ran comforted Heiji on Saturday night. Officer Megure was asking Heiji a whole bunch of questions regarding the situations, and Heiji was careful not to say anything about Conan, Ai, or the Organization. On the other hand, Conan and Ai was able to persuade everyone that the current condition of Hakase's house is the work of an experiment gone wrong and Hakase himself had to meet up with Yusaku in L.A. for a new book release.

Sunday morning came and left. By nightfall, Conan, Ai, Heiji, and Kid have met up at Hakase's ruined house once again.

"Did you see him?" Conan asked when they were inside.

"That car tailing you guys when you came in? Yes." Kid replied. "No one was around when I came, so I think my involvement is unknown to them."

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Heiji asked. "It's really risky..., and dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Kid scoffed. "Please, Mr. Hattori. I'm a magician...nothing's ever dangerous to me--Kid, the Phantom Thief."

But no matter how strongly the three disagreed with Kid's plan, Kid insisted. In the end, they had to give in and at nine o'clock three people marched out into the cold night air. They arrived at the abandoned factory with a few minutes till midnight. Conan shifted uncomfortably under his costume. Then, at exactly midnight, a black Ferrari drove out of the shadows. The car stopped and Vermouth stepped out, her expression shocked.

"Kudo Shinichi?" Vermouth said, amused. "How did you ever manage to turn back?"

The 'Kudo Shinichi' remained silent.

"I've brought Kudo here..., now give Hakase and Kazuha back!" Heiji shouted at the woman at the far end.

Vermouth snapped her fingers. Two men in black stepped out of the car, one dragging Kazuha, the other dragging Hakase. Kazuha was a mess, her face was bruised and her hair entangled. But Hakase was much worse, Hakase was still unconscious and there were blood on his face.

"Now come." Vermouth commanded.

'Shinichi' and 'Ai' walked slowly towards the woman. Vermouth examined the two and motioned at the men behind her and they pushed their hostages forward. In that precise moment, lights shot at them at all directions, and at least five units of police were there.

"Grr." Vermouth snarled and turned at Shinichi. "You lied, Kudo!"

"I'm sorry," said the man, dropping his costume, "But I'm not Kudo Shinichi."

Kid gave Vermouth a fierce punch and grabbed Hakase to safety. 'Ai' seized the opportunity and tried to untie Kazuha's restrains but the men who had Kazuha grabbed her blonde hair and turned her around...but came face to face with a seven-year old boy. Conan grinned and aimed his tranquilizer watch at the man. Vermouth regained her strength and ran for Kazuha. She kicked Conan out of the way, grabbed Kazuha and pushed her back on to the car. Heiji, who was busy fighting the man who had Hakase, tried to chase after the car but was stopped by the man. Conan leaped into the air, his shoes glowing and he aimed a kick at the man's face.

"Thanks." Heiji said.

"Don't thank me now, thank me when we get Kazuha back." Conan said and began to chase after the speeding car. A voice stopped him.

"Conan! Hattori-kun!" It was Officer Satou calling from her car. "Hop in!"

Conan and Heiji took the offer and Satou chased after the black car. Despite the late start, Satou still caught up to Vermouth's car rather quickly. And for an hour they chased, speeding throughout Tokyo and slowly into the mountains. After what seemed like eternity, Vermouth's car stopped at a cliff next to the sea. Satou stopped her car also and they could see two figures getting out of the car.

"Blame yourself, Hattori Heiji." Said the voice of Vermouth. The silhouette of the first figure gave the second a heavy push and pushed her into the ocean. Vermouth herself then leapt off the cliff, pulled on something on her back and the wings of a glider spread out above her and she flew away.

~*~

Hattori sat in the agency, his expression blank and his mind unfocused.

Ran came out of the kitchen carrying soup. She put the pot down on the table in front of the sofa and kneeled down in front of Heiji. "Eat something, Heiji."

Heiji shook his head lightly.

"But you didn't eat anything for the past three days!!" Ran said angrily. "Your body is not going to be able to maintain itself."

"So what?" Hattori whispered. Those were his first words in three days. "That little pain is nothing compared to what Kazu' had suffered..."

Ran saddened. She filled a bowl with the soup and held it in front of Heiji. "Come on..., eat something."

"I SAID NO!" Heiji yelled and slapped Ran's hand away. The bowl was knocked out of her hand and the soup spilled. "Leave me alone." Heiji said monotonously as a teardrops slid down his dark cheeks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oh well..., we all know it's going to be a happy ending anyway. ^_^

Coming next chapter:: Ran and Makoto joins the battalion.


	7. Chapter 7

KudoEdogawa presents...

""The Summer Without You""

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 7::

Ran walked with heavy footsteps, she stopped at the landing on the third floor and grasped the cold metal doorknob. For some reason, just twisting the doorknob took her a lot of energy. She pushed the door so slowly that it creaked, attracting the attention of the people on the third floor.

"How is he?" Eri asked. Ran shook her head.

Sonoko, who had came as soon as she heard what happened, burst into tears. "Why? Why did they take Kazuha-chan? What did they want? Who are they?" Ran went up to Sonoko and they cried as they embraced.

Conan sat on the sofa with the rest of the Detective Boys, his expression solemn. Everyone--Conan, Takagi, Satou, Megure, Kogoro, Eri, Mitsuhiko, Genta, Ayumi, Ran, and Sonoko--stayed motionless for a while. Suddenly, someone knocked. Conan, being the only one who feels like doing something, got up and opened the door. It was Hakase, who was holding on to Kaito Kid and Ai for support.

"Kaito Kid!" Megure explained.

"Shut up, officer." Kid said. "I'm on your side this time."

The detective boys removed themselves from the sofa to let Hakase sit. "Hakase..." Ayumi said softly, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Hakase said and managed to smile at the innocent little girl. Conan could hear weakness in his voice. "Conan-kun." Hakase said.

"Huh?"

"Would you go downstairs and get Hattori-kun?" Hakase said.

Conan didn't know what Hakase wanted, but nevertheless he went downstairs and opened the door. Hattori was still sitting there, in that same place.

"Hattori..." Conan began slowly.

"Just go away, Kudo." Heiji said. Conan could see that he was trying to hold back his tears. "Leave me alone..."

Footsteps. Conan turned around; Kid was coming down the stairs, his white cloak wavering behind him. He stopped in front of the door. "Get you butt of the sofa, Hattori Heiji!" Kid shouted.

Heiji turned around. The sad angst in his eyes instantly shifted to deep hatred. "You!! It's all your fault, what hell of a plan was that? You..." Heiji could hold back normal he rushed forward and punched Kid in the stomach repeatedly.

"Hattori, listen!" Blocking a punch. "Hattori!" And another. "I SAID LISTEN!!!" Kid yelled and punched Heiji in the face. The commotion attracted everyone and everyone was now involved, trying to break the two apart.

"Hattori." A stern voice said. It was Ai.

She reached into her pocket and took out a small, black box. "She sent this. There was a note attached with an address." Ai proceeded to open the box--It contained a pill. Conan and Heiji both stared at the pill.

"Haibara..." Conan said, "is that..."

"The antidote," Ai said, "to APTX4869."

"T-the antidote?" Heiji repeated. "That means..."

Ai nodded. "She's still alive, that why _she_ sent this to us..., to challenge us again."

"Um..., sorry to interrupt the conversation..., but what's going on?" Sonoko said suddenly.

"I think we would all like to know that," Kogoro said.

But Ai ignored the questions and looked at Conan, "Well, Conan-kun? Hattori-kun?"

The atmosphere was tense, Kogoro was grinding his teeth out of frustration. Conan and Heiji looked at each other and nodded. "Let's do it," Conan said. Heiji, Ai, and Conan headed for the door. But a voice stopped them.

"Wait." They whipped around--it was Ran. "Let me help you, Conan..., no..., Shinichi."

Conan stared in bewilderment, and so did everyone else.

"Um..., are you okay, Ran-neechan? I think you need to rest." Conan attempted.

"No, I do not need rest..., all I need is the truth." Ran said, her eyes watering up. "You've always said that there is only one truth..., and now I've discovered that one truth. My instincts were right all along, but time after time you've managed to make me believe that Conan and Shinichi are really two different people...not anymore."

"How did you..." Conan began.

"I overheard you talking to Hattori-kun a few days ago..." Her eyes were watery, but she wasn't crying. However, Conan can tell that her heart is deeply hurt and injured.

"Would someone _please_ tell us what's going on?" Eri finally shouted out of frustration.

"I think we should have Conan explain it." Ai said and held the pill in front of him. "Well..., it's your decision..._Edogawa_."

Conan stared at the pill for a moment. Then, with a determined expression, he reached out his hand and took the pill from Ai. Kid handed him a set of adult clothes and Conan put them on.

"Well," Conan said, smiling, "sayonara...Edogawa Conan." He swallowed the pill.

The most amazing thing happened in front of the rest of the people. Conan's body began to steam, and his face reddened from the heat. Kogoro and the officers took steps back into the stairwell, Sonoko and the Detective Boys' eyes widened, Eri braced herself and Ran was completely stunned at the transformation taking place in front of her. There was a great puff of smoke emitted from Conan's body. When the smoke cleared, Edogawa Conan was no more, and Kudo Shinichi replaced the child.

". . ." Ran remained silent.

"Please Ran, I'll explain, but it'll have to wait, right now we have to save Kazuha." Shinichi said.

"I understand..." Ran said.

A second knock of the day penetrated through the doors. "Who could it be?" Eri wondered aloud. Shinichi motioned the others to step back and they did as they were told. Shinichi took one careful step towards the door, the person outside knocked again. Shinichi moved slowly and carefully towards the metal doors and his hands reached for the doorknob. The person knocked a third time and Sonoko let out an excitedly little squeak, dashed forward, pushed Shinichi out of the way, opened the door and squealed "Makoto!!"

The prince of karate was somewhat shocked at the sight of his girlfriend who leapt up and hugged him. "Why are you here?" She asked excitedly. "How did you know that we're here?

"Ran called me and said that you guys need a little help." Makoto said simply. "So, what's going on?"

~*~

Three cars left the shabby-looking apartment. The first one, driven by Officer Megure, carried Shinichi, Heiji, Ran, and Ai. The second one was driven by Officer Satou, carrying Kid, Makoto, Kogoro, and Hakase. The final car was driven by Takagi and held the three protesting children.

"It's not fair! Conan got to go, why couldn't we?" Genta protested loudly.

"But as you just saw, Conan isn't an ordinary kid, in fact, he's not a kid." Takagi replied.

"But Ai-chan go to go as well!" Ayumi chimed in.

"Well, since Hakase's her guardian, and she's got Hakase's permission..., besides, I think she has more connection to this case than we assumed."

"It's okay if you don't let us go, Officer Takagi." Mitsuhiko said suddenly.

"I'm sorry kids, but Mitsuhiko, thanks for understanding."

"No problem," Mitsuhiko said with a mischievous grin. "We'll just tell Officer Satou how much you _love_ her."

"Yeah!" Ayumi and Genta joined in.

Takagi sighed. _I just can't handle this job..._ He made a U-turn and headed for the police department.

~*~

Hours.

Hours that felt like an eternity.

For hours they drove, and an atmosphere was beginning to build. No one was talking, no one dared to. Heiji reached into his shirt and grasped the good-luck charm tightly. Shinichi sat next to him, occasionally looking at Ran, who, although still hurt, volunteered to help out in the rescue mission, despite Shinichi, Kogoro, and Eri's fierce protest.

The two cars skidded to a stop near an old, forgotten warehouse, far away from Beika. Shinichi, Heiji, Ai, Kid, Makoto, and Ran got off the car. They looked at each other, and nodded. Shinichi approached the door of the garage and placed his hand on the rusted metal door. The door creaked as Shinichi opened it. Darkness. There was nothing except a few boxes. Shinichi looked at Heiji, who shrugged. They scanned the area and suddenly lights were turned on within the warehouse and Vermouth was standing in the very center, staring at them with her cruel eyes.

"Welcome," she said.

"Where is Kazuha?!" Heiji roared.

Vermouth's lips curled into a smile and she snapped her fingers; Gin and Vodka entered through a door on the right, pushing Kazuha in front of them. Her hands were still tied together and her mouth duct taped.

"Kazuha!!" Heiji cried and ran forward.

Wham! Someone had got in front of Heiji and kicked him in the face, making a cut across his dark face. A woman just as beautiful as Vermouth was in front of him, her hair a deep, bloody red.

"I see that you've met Bloody Mary." Said Vermouth.

The woman code named Bloody Mary stared cruelly at Heiji.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	8. Chapter 8

KudoEdogawa presents...

""The Summer Without You""

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 8::

"Vermouth, you said you'd release her if you get me!" Shinichi roared. "Now I'm here, are you going back on your words?"

Vermouth's lips curled into a cruel smile. "Yes..., but for many times I requested that you, Hattori, and Sherry come alone..., yet you still brought your girlfriend and that karate champion here." Vermouth took out her gun and pointed it at Kazuha, "If you want her to stay alive, you better come get her."

Before either Heiji or Shinichi could do anything, Vermouth fired. Kazuha let out a muffled scream and shut her eyes, preparing for death...but it did not come. She heard two loud thumps and the next thing she knew she was pushed on the the ground as the bullet flew over her head. She opened her eyes; Ran and Makoto seemed to have taken action as soon as their presence were noted and they knocked Gin and Vodka to the ground and saved her just in time. Ran and Makoto freed Kazuha from her restrains and stood back up.

Vermouth snarled softly and aimed her gun again.

"No you don't!" Shinichi shouted and charged into Vermouth, sending her to the ground.

Gin and Vodka had regained their strength and also took out their guns and fired at Ran and Makoto, who dodged just in time. Ran sent a kick at Vodka and it was blocked by someone else--a man in black with cold, deadly eyes.

"Just in time, Sake." Vodka said.

"Sake...?" Ran repeated.

"I heard that you're good at karate, Mouri-san," Sake said, "Let me see just how good you are." He aimed a fierce punch at Ran, who did a back-flip to dodge and readied herself for battle when she landed. Sake smiled, "Not bad."

On the other side of the room, Shinichi was running all around, trying to dodge Vermouth's eyeless bullets. "Stay put, you brat!" She snarled and fired, but all that came was a clicking sound. She growled angrily and tossed the gun away and took out her new weapon from her pockets and grinned.

"Darts?!" Shinichi exclaimed as one of the darts missed him, just barely.

"You're not gonna be able to save yourself if you don't get out some sort of weapon, Cool Kid..."

Shinichi seemed to have realized that as well and looked around the room nervously. Vermouth smiled again as she fired the rest of the darts. Shinichi's eyes darted to a wooden board near him, he crouched for the board and stood back up, holding the board in front of him, catching all the needles.

"I don't need weapons, Vermouth," Shinichi said, smiling, "only defense." He tossed the board at Vermouth like a Frisbee, the board of darts hit Vermouth in the stomach, faltering her steps.

Gin and Vodka ran for the steel stairs on the side of the warehouse and reached the second floor. Gin took out his gun and fired at the pursuing Makoto, who leapt into the air, grabbed the rail of the stairs, twisted his body, and landed on the second floor, dodging all the bullets.

"Is that how you fight?" Makoto questioned Gin. "Hide like a coward and play dirty?"

Gin started to shake with rage, Vodka looked helpless. "Boss..."

"Shut up!" Gin said and fired the gun next to him, killing Vodka right on the spot.

"You're sick," Makoto said, "Killing your comrade just like that. You're absolutely sick-minded."

Gin laughed, his eyes full of rage and thirsted for blood, "That would be me," he whispered hoarsely.

Back downstairs, Heiji has unsheathed his katana, fighting against Bloody Mary with her metal rod that she picked up in the abandoned warehouse. The sounds of steel clanging echoed throughout the barren warehouse.

"Not bad," Heiji commented after Bloody Mary dodged a particularly fierce hit.

"I was on the kendo team." She said simply and they resumed fighting.

Kazuha stood in midst of the battles, occasional rookies would appear from here and there now and then. Kazuha, who knew some karate skills from Ran, was able to protect herself from these insignificant enemies. But as the battle progressed, more and more people came and one of them snuck up behind her grabbed her by the wrist.

Kazuha let out a chuckle and her enemy chuckled. There was a soft tap on the man's back. He turned around to see four kids beaming at him.

"One pair of power-up sneakers is enough," said Ai.

"But can you stand four?" Ayumi finished and the kids, all of them wearing a pair of power-up sneakers made by Hakase, leapt into the air and kicked at the enemy, knocking him unconscious.

Kazuha smiled at her helpers and turned to face another men, "Looks like the tide is changing," she said and delivered quick, but painful punches. The detective boys jumped here and there, kicking various of things and the enemy: useless pieces of wood, thin strips of steel, leftover soda cans, and even Vermouth's abandoned gun.

Near the chaotic game of soccer, Shinichi and Vermouth have started a game of tag. Vermouth's sending punches this way and that way, up and down and all over the place, but all that Shinichi was doing was jumping out of the line of fire of this deadly woman.

"Aren't you tired of dodging?" Vermouth shouted out of frustration. "Can't you stay put for the most miniscule amount of time?"

"Aren't you tired of hitting?" Shinichi asked back, there was a moment of pause in their fighting. "Yeah," Shinichi said a moment later, "I _am_ tired of this game." Shinichi raise his leg and swept it at Vermouth's face, striking her with a beautiful round-house kick. Vermouth was knocked back again on the ground, holding her face painfully, her lips bleeding. "Courtesy of Ran." Shinichi added.

Vermouth growled and got back up, striking here and there, Shinichi, who was too busy worrying about the others, was caught off guard and received all of those hits with their full power.

"Kyaa!" Vermouth screamed and sent Shinichi sliding across the floor. His eye was bruised and one of Vermouth's sharp fingernails made a nasty cut on his shoulders. The two of them, beaten and injured, stared at each other and panted quick breaths.

"Hiya!" Came Kazuha's voice a few feet next to them. "Take that! and this! and that! and this! Hiya!"

Vermouth's cold eyes darted towards Kazuha, and without warning, she dashed for her. Vermouth fingers grasped Kazuha firmly around the wrist and dragged Kazuha with her up the stairs.

"Hattori!" Shinichi shouted. Heiji paused in his battle to see what had happened and his face screwed up in anger. He sheathed his blade and chased after Vermouth up the stairs. Bloody Mary tried to follow after him but was stopped by Shinichi. "There's been a minor change in the battle arrangements," he said to her and again delivered a round-house kick, the power and skill of it developed by long years of soccer.

Hattori chased after Vermouth, who had tied Kazuha's arm up again, even while running. They ran past Sake and Ran, both still fighting. Ran had her arms crossed in front of her, against the strength of a grown men, she could do nothing but block the fast and furious punches of her opponent. The chase advanced up stairs where Makoto is struggling against Gin, who's trying to push him off the second floor, both of them seems to have no serious injuries like the others. Now past Vodka's dead body, to which Vermouth growled at, and up another flight of stairs, and higher and higher up the building they go.

Kazuha was screaming and kicking, demanding that she be freed, and Heiji chasing behind them, full of worry, rage, and concern, had to witness Vermouth smacking his childhood friend right in the stomach, knocking Kazuha unconscious.

"Damn you, Vermouth!" Heiji shouted behind her. And higher up they went, running through the dark hallways of the building. A door blocked the way ahead, Vermouth grunted and pushed the door open and the light of the newly risen sun faced her. The rooftop was painted blood red and gold by the sunrise. Vermouth walked towards the edge of the building, pushing Kazuha in front of her, waiting for her pursuer.

Heiji appeared a moment later, sweating and panting with fury and weariness. Vermouth's lips curled again into a cruel smile, she looked coldly at Heiji and before Heiji could acknowledge what's happening, she pushed Kazuha off the edge of the building, the sound of the wind rushing past her falling body could be heard clearly.

Heiji's eyes widened in horror, "KAZUHA!!!!" He cried and tears blurred his vision. He ran to the place where Kazuha had fallen and looked down: there was nothing.

"KAZUHAAAAAAAA!!"

~T o B e C o n t i n u e d~

Aw come on, you don't think I'd really kill her, now did you? But whatever happens next...try to use a little observation and imagination before I finish the next and final chapter...


	9. Chapter 9

KudoEdogawa presents...

""The Summer Without You""

Final Conclusion...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 9::

"KAZUHAAA!!" Heiji stared blankly down the building at the river below. That was for real, this time he had seen her fall..., seen her left him. He choked back his tears and looked despairingly at the sky, gold with the sunrise. "Kazuha..." he whispered.

Suddenly, his expression changed, it wasn't a sad, painful expression, it was angry, his eyes glowed with rage and he turned to Vermouth and grabbed her by the neck. "How could you...?" He hissed. Vermouth gagged as Heiji choked her. She punched Heiji hard in the stomach, but Heiji did not flinch. "Three words." Heiji said. "Go...to...hell!" He stared, Heiji has lost control and is acting purely on his emotions. "Die, Vermouth." Heiji said and tightened his grasp.

~*~

"Stay put!" Bloody Mary screeched. Her leg swept through the air in a swift movement, Shinichi leaned towards his left and bent down, dodging the kick. His leg stretched out and swept across the floor, hitting the woman's ankles and knocking her off the ground. Bloody Mary supported herself on her palms and leapt back up, doing several back flips to establish a distance from Shinichi.

"Running?" Shinichi taunted.

"You wish," Blood Mary said as she drew a gun from the inside of her black dress. Shinichi winced. Bloody Mary smiled, it wasn't as cold as that of Vermouth's but equally cruel and unpleasant. Bloody Mary fired twice, the first shot passed Shinichi right next to his ears, the whirring of the bullet echoing unpleasant in his ears. The second skimmed over the top of his hair, he could feel something rushing over his head. "Next shot would be your handsome young face," the woman said. "Say good-bye"

She took aim, Shinichi bared his teeth. Something caught his attention; Ai rushing behind the woman, her feet positioned next to the metal bar that Bloody Mary dropped a while ago, and her shoes sparking. She nodded, Shinichi answered with a glance and sighed. "Good-bye." He said casually, Bloody Mary growled at his casualness and fired. Shinichi stared at the bullet.

_Just focus on the bullet and time correctly, with enough concentration, it's easy to dodge the hit._

A voice said in his head. His eyes widened in concentration, and in that millionth of a second, he tilted his head to one side, and the bullet only scratched the surface of his skin, leaving a faint trace of blood.

"Damn!" Bloody Mary cursed.

"Now, Ai!" Shinichi shouted. Before Bloody Mary had time to react, the bar was already flying at her, she turned around to be faced by the flying weapon, knocking her out cold.

Shinichi and Ai cheered. _I remember now_, Shinichi thought, _It was Makoto-san._ He looked up at the second floor at Makoto, who, catching his eye, smiled.

"Thanks!" Shinichi shouted at him.

"Well that was new," Ai said, approaching him.

"What?" Shinichi questioned.

"You..." Ai said, "That was the first time you've called me Ai; it felt so weird." Shinichi laughed apologetically.

"I'll remember to be a bit more serious next time." Shinichi said.

~Meanwhile~

"Ahh!" Ran screamed painfully; Sake had grabbed her hair and was pulling her around. "You dirty jerk! Using low tricks like that! Release me and fight with honor!"

"Honor?" Sake repeated, "What honor is there for a man of evil?"

Ran eyes watered at the pain of it, she managed to reach into her pocket and take out a pocket knife, and through gritted teeth, she reached back and sliced at her hair, freeing herself from Sake. Strands of beautiful brown hair fell slowly to the ground, years of waiting have been wasted; she had kept her hair long so that she could one day wear her hair like her mother, but now, all that is gone, she'd have to start over, but she's willing to do it for Kazuha, for Heiji, for Shinichi, for her best friends.

"Let's fight," she said and stood in the standard karate stance, preparing for battle.

"Very well," Sake said and charged at her, his fist already preparing to launch at Ran's already bruised face. "Prepare to lose your beauty as well!" Sake screamed.

But there was no sign of fear in Ran's eyes, only determination, she cannot lose, she has been absent long enough in this affair, it's time for her to do something. She cannot lose, Shinichi has allowed her to do this, she must not disappoint him. Ran stared at Sake, her glare sending a strong sense of power at him, shocking him. He tried to stop his attack, his fist wouldn't listen.

Ran raise a single hand and blocked the hit, before Sake had time to react, she had grabbed Sake's other arm, push him towards the ground and kneed him in the stomach. She pulled him back up, he staggered and swayed, Ran sent a punch, and another, finally sending her opponent on the ground with her reversed roundhouse kick.

She stood above her fainted enemy and let out a sigh of relief and pride. She reached back to feel her new, shortened hair...it felt uneven, she'd have to get a proper haircut to fix it tomorrow, but for now, she was content. She had proven herself useful, not just useful, but useful to Shinichi, and now Shinichi was back she couldn't feel happier...

Her joy turned to sorrow as she turned towards the stairs, hoping for the safety of Kazuha and Heiji. A thud came from the other side of the room; Shinichi had finished his battle, she joined him and the cheering Detective Boys.

"Nice," Shinichi said to her.

"I had some motivations," she said amusedly.

"Nice," Shinichi repeated. Ran stared blankly. Seeing this, Shinichi pointed, "I meant the hair.

"Oh," Ran said, "I was seeking new fashion."

"Let's see how Makoto-san is doing now..." Shinichi said as he raised his head to watch the battle above. "Hope that Heiji could take care of himself..."

~*~

Three loud booms exploded within the warehouse, followed by more. Gin, like a dog with a disease, is firing at Makoto uncontrollably, and all Makoto could do under such swift attacks is to jump and hide.

"My face, my cruel, evil face, how can it be bruised by a brat like you?" Gin said, his expression mad. "How could I, one of the top members of the Organization, be beaten to such a state by someone the likes of you?"

"Gin!" Makoto shouted in midst of the fire. "You've lost it! Snap out of it and surrender!"

"Surrender?" Gin paused his attacks. "I never surrender..., I could turn Kudo Shinichi to a helpless kid, I could lock Miyano Shiho up, and I could to the same to you!" He fired again.

"Men like you are pitiful." Makoto said angrily. Without giving Gin the chance to react, he had dashed forward and kicked Gin in the chest. He staggered and took a few steps back, his body leaned towards the ground, Makoto seized the chance and karate chopped him in the back. Gin dropped to his knees and fell. "Men who lose control for power..."

He leaned on the rails of the second floor and looked down at the mess, "Everything alright down there?"

Shinichi gave him the thumbs up sign, "I think now would be safe to invite Officer Megure." He took out his cell phone.

"But Heiji and Kazuha," Ran said suddenly.

"Don't worry," Shinichi said as he dialed the number, "He'll take care of himself."

The doors of the warehouse slammed open, a dozen men in black appeared, "The boss says to retreat, gather our warriors and forget about the brats." One of them said. Shinichi, Ran, and Makoto prepared for a second round of battle, but the man who had spoken took out something from his pockets and dropped in on the ground...a black haze arose from it and when the darkness cleared, they were gone.

"Damn..." Shinichi cursed.

~*~

Heiji's hand tightened around Vermouth's throat, his face expressionless as if lost the will to live on. Vermouth grunted painfully. "Don't be foolish, Hattori." A voice behind him said. His expression calmed and his grip loosened as he and Vermouth turned to look. Pure white in the sky, and painted golden by the newly risen sun, Kaito Kid flew steadily towards them on his glider. Heiji angered again; where has this bastard been? Now that he thought of it, Kid wasn't in the battle downstairs, nor was he helping up here up on the rooftop. But wait..., Kid didn't look right; he was holding something in his arm, what is it? Surely it isn't...but Kid is indeed an expert with his glider.... Heiji rubbed his eye with his free hand, it was Kazuha! His arms dropped.

"It can't be...," Vermouth whispered.

Kid landed on the rooftop with a soft thud and put Kazuha down, she was fast asleep. "You would've seen her body on the ground below if she died." Kid said as-matter-of-factly. "Now Hattori, repay her for all this that she has gone through."

Heiji turned once again to Vermouth, a murderous look in his eyes; Vermouth prepared herself for battle. A black helicopter flew over head when the battle was about to start and a ladder dropped from it. "Vermouth, retreat and destroy the warehouse."

"But..." Vermouth started.

"Now, Chris!" The man in the helicopter said again. "It's a direct order from the boss."

"Damn!" Vermouth cursed and turned to Heiji. "I guess it'll have to wait." She took out a device from her dress and pressed a button, "I've set up bombs in the warehouse..., you have about two minutes to get your butt out of here." She grabbed hold of the ladder and flew away.

"Damn!" Heiji swore and turned to Kid, "Let's go!" He picked up Kazuha and they descended down the building.

The first floor was a mess, Shinichi and Ran were pacing around, the Detective Boys sat impatiently, Makoto stood and watched the entrance to the third floor. Thud, thud, thud. Metal being pounded on. Thud, thud, thud. No..., they were footsteps.

"They're coming!" Makoto declared and the Detective Boys cheered.

A moment later, Heiji, Kazuha, and Kid appeared from the hallway. "GE-OU-A-HE-!!" Heiji shouted incoherently.

"What's he saying?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"GE-OU-A-HE!!" Heiji shouted again, and growled. "GET-OUT-OF-HERE!!" He mouthed.

"He's telling us to get out of here," said Makoto, who was closest to the stairs.

"SHE-PLANTED-A-BOMB!!" Kid shouted.

"There's a bomb!" Makoto repeated to the rest of the gang. "Let's go!"

Heiji came rushing down the stairs, carrying Kazuha. Shinichi grabbed Mitsuhiko and Makoto picked up Genta. Much to her dislike, Ai was picked by Ran and Kid came up to Ayumi and grabbed her; Ayumi blushed.

Whirring of police cars could be heard outside. Officer Megure motioned his men to move closer to the door, they stood next to it, carefully to not attract attention.

"On my call," Megure said, "Three, two, on-"

The door burst open and Shinichi and the rest ran out of it. "There's bomb, get away!" Shinichi shouted.

"What?" Megure said, "Retreat! Move back! All of you!" He commanded frantically.

The group scrambled madly to get away as a loud explosion was heard from behind them, all of them skidded and fell to the ground. And there they sat, on the ground, too tired to move, watching the raging inferno engulf their battlefield. Firefighters were summoned, the case was closed.

Kazuha stirred slightly in her sleep and opened her eyes. "Heiji...?" she whispered.

"Oh, Kazuha!" Heiji cried and embraced her in his arms. "Oh, Kazu', promise me," he said. "Promise me you won't leave me again," he kissed the top of her head, "I've had enough this summer without you by my side."

"Hei-kun..." She whispered and fell asleep once again in his hug.

**********  
Epilogue  
**********

"HATTORI HEIJI, STAY WHERE YOU ARE!!"

"Why? I wanna go home now."

"You're not going anywhere until I know which college you're going to!"

"Why do you care?" Heiji said and left!!

"HATTORI HEIJI!!" Kazuha screamed, clutching the acceptance letter to Tokyo University tightly in her hand.

.........

"Please, please, please, please, please, please, please," Heiji muttered as his fingers moved to open the letter. It opened..., he took it out of the envelope...and shut his eyes tightly.

"Here goes nothing," He unfolded the letter and opened his eyes.

The words Tokyo University were printed on the top of the letter, followed by the word: "Congratulations!"

"Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!" Heiji let out a hoarse whisper and kissed the letter. Looks like they're gonna stay together after all.

*

Somewhere in Tokyo..., the same thing was happening in Ran and Shinichi's life...

~End~

_Azayaka sujiru kimi ga inai natsu  
Ano koe ano shigoto ga horogatte 'ku  
Kotoba nanka dekinakute mo ii  
Koboreta hizahi ni kokoro ga nijinda  
Ahh, Mou modorenai toki wo chiisaku inotte iru..._

========================================================================================

Well, there it goes...this fic took a considerably longer time to write than "Always", even though it's much shorter. The title "The Summer Without You" was taken from the fourth season ending of Conan, "Kimi ga Inai Natsu" by Deen. Detective Conan and its related characters and plotline are properties and copyrights of Gosho Aoyama. Bloody Mary and Sake are original characters. Thanks for reading and please support my other fics, "Knighthood: The Spirit of the Knight" and "Everlasting" the sequel to Always. Please also support my first original fiction posted on FictionPress, "Connected by Stars." Thanks very much

KudoEdogawa, November 14, 2003


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